


got a secret (can you keep it)

by toffifee (orphan_account)



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Slash, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 06:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17719841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/toffifee
Summary: “And you were hitting on Hope! Hope, of all people!”[In which Lizzie recalls a bizarre dream and Josie reflects on how deep denial can run before the facade cracks.]





	got a secret (can you keep it)

**Author's Note:**

> Post 1x10, where the second AU is a dream Lizzie can remember and decides to share with Josie. Cue an epiphany and some mild panicking on Josie's side. 
> 
> Title lovingly borrowed from Secret by The Pierces.

Josie agrees that dreams can be fun to look into. Interesting, even. Dreams can be revealing, for better or worse, uninhibited clues from one’s subconscious, secrets one could try to hide even from themselves finally unveiled on some level. She knows dreams can be even more in the supernatural world she was born into: straightforward messages of, usually, the worst kind, bone-chilling threats, persistent nightmares that slip forcefully into reality. There’s something to be said about the obsession monsters tend to have with their victims’ psyche.

But sometimes all dreams are is total horseshit, which Josie thinks Lizzie should have realized about a dream where Jed – stubborn, domineering, slightly aggressive Jed – was apparently not only part of Hope’s pseudo-Avengers squad, but also taking orders from her with no complaints. Lizzie seems disproportionately distraught over something so far removed from reality, but then again, all or nothing is Lizzie’s entire life philosophy, so Josie can’t exactly pretend to be surprised.

“Dream worlds are always weird,” she tries to placate her sister, hand settling on top of Lizzie’s to give it an affectionate rub. Then, unable to stop herself, she chuckles. “Maybe MG’s love of comics is starting to rub off on you?”

Lizzie groans, the sound somewhere between petulant and endearing, and throws herself onto the bed with typical dramatic flair. She jumps back up an instant later, her troubled gaze fixing Josie like she’s the bullseye on a dartboard. “And you were hitting on Hope! Hope, of all people!”

And Josie, dumbstruck, thinks – _what_? But the bewilderment doesn’t stop her from asking more questions, now with renewed interest.

 

 

 

Josie wouldn’t say it’s a wakeup call. There is no sudden realization that makes everything fall into place harmoniously or prompts the world to make sense in a way it hadn’t before. Nothing changes, except when she sees her dad talking to Hope in the hallway, discussing what later will most likely become a mission that’s going to make Lizzie resent Hope a little harder and Josie wish they could be a little braver, she turns around and rushes back into her room.

She doesn’t plan to avoid Hope for the rest of their lives, but. Lizzie’s dream is too recent, and she really has a knack for recounting stories in minute detail. Josie can’t face Hope just yet. Just the thought of it sets her cheeks on fire.

 

 

 

She has to remind herself more often than she’d like that the dream was Lizzie’s. Not her own. Lizzie’s. And Lizzie isn’t exactly happy about her getting closer to Hope lately, Josie is embarrassingly aware of that. She understands Lizzie’s worries, even if she doesn’t voice them out loud.

Lizzie gets a little sensitive and panicky over the idea that she could lose Josie to a romantic partner. And each time Josie can’t really stifle the thought of _as if I could ever let you go_ , but she never says it because their codependency is bad enough as it is, and she knows getting her own side of it under control is the first step she needs to take if she wants to set some healthy boundaries.

They’re a work in progress, and Lizzie’s insecurities and fears, as much as Josie is used to them, will always be a little more taxing than anything else they have to face together. Still, she’d say it’s a bit extreme of Lizzie to dream a version of Josie where she’d blindly follow Hope’s lead simply because she’s – hot.

Honestly, what.

 

 

 

If Lizzie’s brain can come up with a dream world where Jed and Kaleb and little Pedro are bonafide superheroes, and Hope’s sidekicks, and the Salvatore school doesn’t even exist, Josie supposes that by comparison her flirting with Hope is – reasonably realistic. Not that she wants to flirt with Hope. They’re tentative friends at best, it’s not like – they don’t –

They barely even pay attention to each other outside of life-or-death situations, right?

She starts fiddling with the necklace Hope had given her, the seemingly inconspicuous birthday gift that ended up saving her life. It feels strangely warm all of a sudden.

 

 

 

Hope has her father’s eyes. Not just the color, but the glint of daredevil mischief and defiance and determination. It’s who Hope is, a vivid painting in a pair of blue eyes, and she never makes apologies for it.  

She is impulsive, but Josie knows she isn’t entirely innocent when it comes to backing up some of Hope’s more reckless decisions lately, and for the first time she’s wondering when that started happening. Why, what changed. Their relationship had always been mostly civil, unlike Hope and Lizzie’s, but there is tolerating and occasionally being nice to someone, and then there’s doing magic together and keeping it a secret from everyone else, over and over and over, and – enjoying it?

Josie isn’t a troublemaker, has never been one. But there’s something exciting about the way Hope invites her to step over the lines of good behavior, without pushing her farther than she’s willing go.

Hope is upfront and unapologetic about what she wants, and what she plans, and what she is going to do, consequences be damned. But she still lets Josie choose if she wants to join her on whichever spontaneous mission she has in mind. Josie thinks that particular realization might have been the tipping point. 

 

 

 

Objectively speaking, Hope is – beautiful. That is an undeniable fact as much as the planets orbiting the sun, and the magic running through the walls of the mansion. She’s beautiful in the same way her mother had been – wild, untamed, too stubborn and restless to be delicate. Not beautiful like Mom and Lizzie – tall and slender and golden, sapphire eyes longing to take in all the wonders of the world.

Hope is beautiful like only a daughter of supernatural royalty could be. But also like a teenage girl who always finds the strength to keep getting up and up and up once more, every time fate knocks her down, brazen willpower packed in a petite body.

Josie suspects her definition of objective might be a little skewed.

 

 

 

Josie is pretty sure she has no interest in finding out what Hope’s hands feel on her thighs. The fact that she starts wearing skirts even more often than usual has nothing to do with – anything. She likes wearing skirts, always has; out of the two of them, it’s Lizzie who prefers the elegant pants and stylish shorts.

Nothing’s changed. Just – spring giving way to warm summer weather. Of course she’d wear skirts more often if the weather allows it. So what if Hope is around to see it.

 

 

 

“Okay, so my plan to hide the urn was – a bit flawed,” Hope says through gritted teeth, like the admission causes her physical pain, then she purses her lips in annoyance and shakes her head as if she’s berating herself for not managing to trap a monster none of them had ever heard of, let alone had to fight before. 

Josie tries to come up with something comforting to stay, but her brain doesn’t manage to do more than direct her eyes to follow the movements of Hope’s mouth and take in the shape of her lips. Well. This is going to be a problem.

“Sooo,” Hope continues, and there her mouth goes again, curving upwards, the promise of an adventure on her rosy lips catching Josie’s attention, “I have another idea. But I need some help. Specifically, the help of someone who can siphon the magic out of this thing that has to look as ordinary and non-magical as possible. Wanna be my partner in crime?”

It’s sort of contagious. Hope’s daring enthusiasm and resolve not to give up until she defeats another monster, and it makes her face light up like she can already taste the victory, warrior smile taking over and tempting Josie to say yes to anything, to everything, but then it fades a little, and Hope’s brows furrow in the universally acknowledged expression of confusion, but why, what is happening –

“Um. Josie? Do you – want to help me?”

Josie blinks. Blinks again, and her heart’s in her throat. Oh god.  She nods feverishly, trying not to read too much into the worried look Hope is giving her. “Yes. Yes, yeah, totally. Let’s do it.”

She wishes she could remember what exactly she just agreed to.

 

 

 

Hopeless infatuations are Josie’s specialty, so that part in itself isn’t surprising. The problem is that Hope isn’t unattainable, not in the way Josie used to believe she was. More than anything Hope is lonely and almost naively eager to find someone to connect with, someone she can open up to, someone she can rely on. Someone she can laugh with.

Josie knows Hope has already allowed her to get closer than she does most, that they have – something. Blooming. Growing. But still, that doesn’t give her the right to go ahead and blur the lines before they were even drawn. She can’t exactly walk up to Hope yet and ask, hey, do you think you could be into girls also?

_Do you think you could be into me?_

 

 

 

The blue of Hope’s eyes looks darker in this light. Or maybe the lighting doesn’t have anything to do with it. Her skin heats up in the shape of the patterns Josie keeps tracing with burning fingertips, warm breath a whisper on Josie’s neck as she runs her tongue over Josie’s pulse point before closing the gap between their mouths again.

There’s magic buzzing around them, between them, and Josie can’t help grinning into it with kiss-swollen lips, grabbing at Hope’s hips to pull her closer. She whines at the soft touch she feels on the inside of her thigh, Hope’s fingers a promise across her skin, inching up and up and –

Josie wakes up with a gasp and a familiar throbbing between her legs. Her heart is pounding inside her ribcage, and for a minute all she can do is stare at the ceiling with parted lips and no air in her lungs. She turns her head to the side expecting the worst, but Lizzie is still sleeping peacefully, golden hair fanned out on her pillow.

Josie breathes again.

She rubs a hand over her face, equal parts frustrated and resigned, too tired to start a fight with her subconscious at one in the morning. There will be plenty of time to deal with this when she’s awake enough not to wish she could just go to Hope’s room and –

And, what?

She shakes her head, cheeks heating up so furiously she knows they’re turning into very visible little red balloons. If Lizzie ever has another dream about her and Hope, Josie crosses her fingers to never have to hear about it. At the rate it’s affecting her, one day she’s going to end up doing something as wild and ridiculous as proposing to Hope just because Lizzie dreamt about it.

Sighing softly, Josie shakes her head again to get rid of the images of her hands tangled in long auburn hair. Snaps her eyes shut to not keep picturing the rosy lips she’ll have to look at in the morning and pretend she doesn’t want to find out what they taste like.

She takes a deep breath.

She can handle this. She’s good at keeping her crushes in check when she has to. Hope Mikaelson won’t be the one to break her.  

 

 

 

_“And you were hitting on Hope! Hope, of all people!”_

_A beat. Josie’s heart skipping like pebbles on a lake._

_“Did she – did she flirt back?”_

_Lizzie’s huff. Wary blue eyes and a raised eyebrow. A shrug._

_“Yes.”_

 


End file.
